Winkler



C. WINKLER Jan. 31, 1956 HAIR CURLER Filed June 10, 1953 FIG.2

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United States Patent HAIR CURLER Charles Winkler, New York, N. Y.,assignor to Ludwin Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of NewYork Application June 10, 1953, Serial No. 360,754

8 Claims. (Cl. 132-42) The present invention relates to a hair curlingdevice, of the type utilized in the arrangement and setting of the hairin curls by the cold setting process, utilizing chemical means ratherthan thermal means.

The size or diameter and the thickness of hair curls are determined,respectively, by the diameter and by the length of the curler or curlingdevice used. A curler of greater diameter produces curls of greaterdiameter.

I Also, a curler of greater length which permits the winding thereon ofa thicker strand of hair allows the formation of thicker curls.

- Heretofore, in order to form curls of different thicknesses, curlersof different length had to be utilized. This necessitated, particularlyfor professional hair dressers, the keeping of a stock of curlers ofeach of a number of different lengths. This requirement necessitated asubstantial investment and was also confusing, tending to clutter up theworking shelves and tables of hair dressing establishments.

Heretofore also, it was difiicult to form neat curls in which all thehair was neatly in place and uniformly spiraled because, generally, the.extreme end portions of the strand of hair wound around each curlertended to loosen and slide oflf the curler.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a hair curler of thecharacter described which is adjustable as to length, thereby enablingits utilization to form curls of different thicknesses and doing awaywith the need for keeping numerous sets of curlers of different lengthson hand and bringing about economies in money and space, particularlyfor professional hair dressers, and also enabling persons who set theirown hair to vary the thickness of their curls from time to time, as theymay see fit, without the necessity of investing in a new set of curlerseach time.

It is another object of the present invention to provide adjustable haircurlers of the character described which are relatively simple and easyto adjust from one length to another.

It is still another object of the present invention to provideadjustable hair curlers of the character described which will remainfirmly and securely in adjusted position until' manually readjusted.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide anadjustable hair curler of the character described on which the hair maybe safely and securely held during the curling or setting operation.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide adjustablehair curlers of the character described which will enable the formationof neat and compact curls without any loose and straying hair.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provideadjustable hair curlers of the character described which are easy andconvenient to use and manipulate; which are strong, rigid and sturdy andwhich may be relatively easily and economically mass-produced.

The foregoing and other advantages and superiorities of the hair curlersof the present invention will become ice more readily apparent to thoseskilled in the art from the embodiment thereof shown in theaccompanyingdrawing and from the description following. It is to be un derstood,however, that such embodiment is shown by way of illustration only, tomake the principles and practice of the invention more readilycomprehensible and without any intent of limiting the invention to thespecific details therein shown.

in the drawing:

Fig. l is an elevational view of one embodiment of a hair curler of thepresent invention, shown in partly extended position;

Fig. 2 is a vertical, longitudinal, sectional view through the curler ofFig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the curler as actually used.

Referring more specifically to the accompanying drawing, the curler ofthe present invention comprises a pair of preferably substantially equaland preferably substantially symmetrical tubular sections, 11 and 12,which may be formed of any suitable material, such as a syntheticplastic material having limited inherent resilience. The two sections 11and 12 may preferably be of approximately the same uniform wallthickness.

Each of sections 11 and 12 comprises a preferably cylindrical innerportion, 14 and 15, respectively, and an outer portion, 16 and 17,respectively, which preferably widens slightly gradually in an outwarddirection. Each of portions 16 and 17 is preferably formed with theannular, externally thickened edge portions, 18 and 19, respectively.

The inner cylindrical portions 14 and 15 may each be formed withparallel slots, 20 and 21, respectively, extending inwardly from thefree edge thereof and separated by the parallel prongs, 22 and 23,respectively.

The slots 20 and 21 and the prongs 22 and 23 are so formed and disposedas to have prongs 22 of section 11 fit into slots 21 of section 12, andthe prongs 23 of section 12 fit into slots 20 of section 11, so that theprongs and slots of the two sections may be slidably interfitted. .Thismay be readily accomplished by making all of the slots in one section ofthe same length and width as the corresponding prongs of the othersection and preferably by making all of the slots and prongs of the samelength and width.

Sections 11 and 12 may be steadied and supported in interfitted positionby means of a tubular member, 25, fitted into and secured within theinner portion of one of the sections, as in portion 14 of section 15, tounderlie snugly, the prongs 22 and the separating slots 20, andextending outwardly therefrom to underlie and support the partly orwholly interfitted prongs 23 and inner portion 15, which are freelyslidable over the cylinder of tube 25. The tube 25 may, if desired, beintegrally formed with the section 11 or it may be fitted and securedtherewithin, as by a suitable cement.

It will be readily apparent that the two sections 11 and 12 may thus beinterfitted with their prongs and slots in longitudinally slidablerelation to form a longer or shorter curler as may be desired; a curlerwhich will remain of the same thickness and provide uniform support forthe strand of hair curled thereabout for any of its variable lengths.Means are provided, however, for preventing the inadvertent shorteningof the curler during use, as under the influence of the hair securingelastic band which will hereinafter be described and which tends to pullthe two sections toward one another.

The means for preventing the inadvertent foreshortening of the curlermay comprise a plurality, such as 3 or 4, of spaced, small openings 26,formed in a row in the cylinder 25 within one of the slots 20, and bythe provision on the end of the prongs 23 on its inner face of a stud orpin 28 adapted to fit within any selected one of the openings 26. Thestud 28 may have its forward or inner face perpendicular to the innerface of the prong supporting it to inhibit movement of the stud out ofthe aperture once it is fitted thereinto, except by deliberate manualremoval, which is made possible by the general inherent resilience ofthe synthetic plastic material of which the prongs are composed. The pinor stud 28 may be provided with a convergingly tapered rear face 29,which will permit its removal from any of the openings 26 by a mereseparating pull upon the two sections 11 and 12, without the need of themanual release of the pin from such opening for that purpose.

To prevent the complete removal of the two sections from one another, atleast one elongated slot 30 is formed in the cylinder 25, opening intoone of the spaces 20, and a corresponding prong 23 is provided at theend of its inner face with a pin 31, which pin or stud is adapted to fitwithin the slot 30. The slot 30 is preferably of a length equal to thelength of the row of openings 25 and the inner edge of the slot 30engaging against the rear face of the pin 31, prevents the withdrawal ofcurler section 12 from curler section 11 except by deliberate manualaction.

Each of the sections 11 and 12 may have their outer portions formed withlongitudinal slots 33 and 34 for purposes of ornamentation as well asreduction of weight and also, if desired, to permit the application ofhair setting liquid through the interior of the curler. The outersurfaces of sections 11 and 12 may also be provided with closely setannular corrugations that serve to prevent the sliding thereover of thestrand of hair 35 that may be wound thereabout.

The hair curler of the present invention may be completed by theattachment of an elastic band or string 36 to the bar 37, which may beprovided across the outer end opening of section 12, the elastic 36having a knot at its free end which is adapted to be caught in one ofthe ventura slots 38 formed in the outer thickened edge portion 18 ofthe section 11.

This completes the description of the adjustable hair curler of thepresent invention. It will be readily apparent that such hair curler mayeasily and conveniently be formed and assembled and adjusted todifferent lengths for the purpose of forming curls of differentthicknesses therewith; that the curler, once adjusted, may not beinadvertently shortened during use; that the curler although adjustableas to length remains at all times a complete unit, the parts of whichmay not inadvertently come apart and be separated.

It will also be apparent that because of the slight taper formed on eachof the curler sections as well as because of their thickened edges, allof the hair in a strand wound thereabout will be tensely curled and willnot slip ofi to form a uniformly tight curl without any loosely spiraledhair.

It will be further apparent that numerous variations and modificationsof the adjustable hair curler of the present invention may be made byanyone skilled in the art in accordance with the principles of theinvention hereinabove set forth and without the use of any inventiveingenuity. I desire, therefore, to be protected for any and all suchvariations and modifications that may be made within the spirit of thepresent invention and the scope of the claims hereto appended.

What I claim is:

1. A hair curler of the character described, comprising a pair oftubular sections each having a plurality of spaced, longtudinallydisposed, circularly arranged prongs extending from one end thereof,with the prongs of said two sections slidably interfitting, acylindrical member fitted into the end of one of said sectionsunderlying the prongs thereof and the spaces between them and extendingslidably beyond said prongs into the other of said sections, saidcylinder having a longitudinal row of spaced apertures formed thereinopposite a space between a pair of prongs of said first named section, astud on the end of the inside face of the prong of the second of saidsections fitting into said space of said first section.

2. A hair curler of the character described, comprising a pair ofslightly tapering tubular sections each having a plurality of spaced,longitudinally disposed prongs extending from the edge of the narrowerend thereof with the prongs of the two sections interfitting, acylindrical member fitted into the end of one of said sectionsunderlying the prongs thereof and the spaces between them and extendingbeyond said prongs for sliding movement within the second of saidsections, said cylinder having a longitudinal row of apertures formedtherein opposite the space between two of the prongs of said firstmentioned section, and a stud on the end of the inside face of the prongof the second named of said sections interfitting into said space ofsaid first named section.

3. A hair curler of the character described, comprising a pair oftubular sections each having a plurality of spaced, parallel,longitudinally disposed prongs extending from the edge of one endthereof, with the prongs of said two sections slidably interfitting, acylindrical member fitted into the end of one of said sectionsunderlying the prongs thereof and the spaces between them and extendingbeyond said prongs for slidable movement within the other of saidsections, said cylinder having a longitudinal row of apertures formedtherein opposite the space between a pair of prongs of said first namedsection and a longitudinal slot formed therein opposite the spacebetween another pair of prongs of said first named section, the prong ofthe second of said sections fitting into the space over said row ofapertures having a stud on the end of its inner face for selectivelyfitting into one of said apertures and the prong of said second sectionfitting into the space of said first section over said slot having astud on the end of its inner face fitting into said slot.

4. The hair curler of claim 3, wherein said aperture entering stud isformed with its side facing said first section perpendicular to theinner face of its supporting prong and its opposed side convergenttoward its said first side.

5. The hair curler of claim 3 wherein the said slot entering stud isformed with its sides substantially perpendicular to the underside ofthe prong on which it is supported and wherein said aperture enteringstud is formed wtih its side facing the tubular section to which it isconnected converging toward the side facing the free end of the prong onwhich it is supported.

6. The hair curler of claim 3 wherein the said cylindeI is integrallyformed with said first named section.

7. The hair curler of claim 3 wherein each of said sec tions is formedwith an annular rib on its outer face at its end opposite the prong endthereof thereby to retain References Cited in the the of this patentUNITED STATES PATENTS 2,369,752 Ostrander 'Feb. 20, 1945 2,499,285Stimson Feb. 28, I950 FOREIGN PATENTS 998,804 France Oct. 13, 1949

